Workers Compensation Law

If you are injured on the job in Georgia, and if your employer is required to have workers’ compensation insurance coverage, then you are entitled to certain benefits to compensate you for your medical care, some allowable expenses, and lost time while you recover from your injury. While there are exceptions for certain types of businesses based on either the size or type of business, most employers in Georgia are required to carry workers’ compensation insurance and are required to compensate you for medical treatment, lost income, and related expenses through their workers’ compensation insurance.

In Georgia, workers’ compensation is the exclusive remedy for most work-related accidents. What this means is that, in exchange for being able to recover medical expenses and weekly income payments for lost time through your employers’ workers’ compensation insurance, you are not able to also file a civil lawsuit against your employer for negligence and cannot recover for certain intangible things like pain and suffering as you could otherwise recover in a personal injury or other civil suit. There are numerous exceptions to these rules, however, and you may be able to recover against a third party responsible for your injury or accident even if your only recourse against your employer is workers’ compensation. For this reason, in most cases, it is essential that you discuss your claim with an attorney to evaluate all possible options for recovery and resolution of your claim.

In most cases, workers’ compensation will provide you a reduced amount of weekly benefits for any time lost from work due to your injury, as well as provide you reimbursement for other related expenses such as mileage reimbursement to and from your treating physicians while you are receiving medical treatment through workers’ compensation. Depending on the nature and severity of your injuries and the length of your recovery period, worker’s compensation will provide you payments for Temporary Total Disability or Temporary Partial Disability depending on whether the workers’ compensation treating doctor has you restricted to no work or whether you are able to return to work but at a reduced wage rate from your pre-injury wage. Workers’ compensation also provides for payment of a Permanent Partial Disability rating based on the percentage of loss of use of your body which the injury has caused, and this rating is usually given by an authorized workers’ compensation doctor when you have reached or are approaching the end of your medical treatment. In almost every case, you will make less through workers’ compensation than you made through your regular wages on your job, and this is because workers’ compensation is set up to provide a source of guaranteed income during your recovery period similar to a payment through a disability insurance policy as opposed to replacing your entire income, and the goal of the workers’ compensation system is to attempt to return the injured worker to work once a recovery is made or to attempt to resolve a claim through a settlement if the injured worker is unable to return to work with their pre-injury employer.

In lieu of receiving these weekly benefits and medical treatment, many injured workers choose to close their workers' compensation claims and settle for a lump sum cash settlement. The amount of these settlements depends on the nature of the injuries involved as well as other factors.

This is a very general overview of workers’ compensation law and in most cases an injured worker should consult an attorney to ensure that their rights are being protected and that they are obtaining all benefits to which they are entitled during the course of their claim. Georgia workers’ compensation law is a highly technical area of the law and there are numerous defenses and exceptions which can be applied by employers and insurance companies against the injured worker to limit the injured workers’ recovery and benefits. For this reason, it is essential that you protect your rights and ensure that you are able to obtain the benefits to which you are entitled, as well as to also ensure that you obtain the most thorough and capable medical care to help you recover from your injuries.

The attorneys at The McAleer Law Firm, P.C. have many years of experience in handling Georgia workers’ compensation claims and are able to discuss your claim with you and to advise you whether you need legal representation to ensure that you obtain the maximum medical and income benefits to which you are entitled under Georgia law. While the primary focus of the firm’s workers’ compensation practice is related to Georgia workers’ compensation claims, and while every state is different in how they handle workers’ compensation, we are also able to evaluate workers’ compensation claims arising out of accidents occurring in Tennessee, and stand ready to assist you with your claim in either Georgia or Tennessee as needed.